Courage
by dancer4813
Summary: "Are you alright?" A scoff. " Yeah, pretty stupid question I guess..." Ginny comforts a first year during DH.


**A/N: My entry for the Pumpkin Pasties: "_Pastries are nice and sweet. So the challenge here is to write about one character helping another character out."_ category in owluvr's Honeydukes Competition. Enjoy!**

Courage

_I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does ot feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. ~Nelson Mandela_

* * *

Ginny woke suddenly, unsure of the reason, and sighed when she felt another spasm of pain rush through her body. Ever since she had started defying the Carrows during lessons, she had been in detention nearly every night. Only a few of her friends (namely Neville and Seamus) knew what she was going through during them.

Torture.

Every night, the Cruciatus Curse.

Every night, tortured nearly to unconsciousness.

And it was only worse knowing that students in their first, second and third years were being subject to the torture _every_ period with Professors Carrow. Not only during 'Dark Arts' class anymore, but also during Muggle Studies when they took "field trips" to the older students' Dark Arts classes for curse practice.

She wondered every day how Snape could live with it.

Naturally, he had always been considered the bane of every house but Slytherin since before she even arrived at Hogwarts, but she did know that he wasn't heartless. Ok, so maybe killing the man who had kept you safe from your old master was pretty bad, but he did save Harry more than once during Harry, Ron and Hermione's first year and then again during third year and he even tricked Umbridge during her own fourth year.

How could someone have such different personalities all the time – fair and utterly biased, scornful and self-sacrificing, brave like a Gryffindor and deceitful as a Slytherin?

It made Ginny's head hurt to think about it.

Checking the time and seeing nearly six in the morning, Ginny groaned, realizing that she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep before needing to wake up to go to classes. Even as much as she just wanted to skive off.

Unfortunately, she knew it would be worse for her if she did.

Grumbling as she made her way down to the common room, she was startled to hear quiet sobs coming from somewhere to her right.

"Hello?" she whispered, peering into the near-darkness.

The sobs stopped abruptly, but a small whimper of fear gave them away.

Ginny walked closer to see one of the new first years curled up on a window seat, tear stains on her pale face. Long, excessively curly brown hair framed the young girl's face and Ginny was forcibly reminded of Hermione.

"Are you alright?"

A scoff.

"Yeah, pretty stupid question I guess…" Her voice trailed away. She took a seat next to the smaller girl, on the other side of the window. Brushing a lock of red hair out of her face, Ginny waited for the other girl to speak. When she didn't, she asked another question.

"So what's your name?"

A sniffle, a hiccup.

"Emma. Emmarose Anderson. Half blood."

"I don't care what blood type you are, Emma," Ginny said, smiling softly, just aching to wrap the child in a comforting hug. "I might be pureblood, but my boyfriend is a half blood, my best friend is a muggleborn and they are both on the run from the Ministry. Undesireables number One and Eight."

Emma looked up suddenly, realizing who she was talking to.

"Ginny Weasley?"

"Yep. That's me," She said proudly. "Youngest of current Weasley children, sister to six crazy brothers and first female-born Weasley in four generations."

Emma smiled weakly, then sighed and looked out the window again.

"So why are you up then?"

Emma's blue-green eyes shed a few more tears, then she spoke.

"Nightmares. Homesickness."

Gently, Ginny wrapped an arm around Emma's shoulders.

"Me too."

"Really?" Emma asked, wiping a few tears out of her eyes as she sniffled.

"Yep. It actually isn't any easier for us old kids either. It's just that we've had more practice hiding it."

Emma chuckled weakly. "I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse."

"Well I should think it would make you feel better. After all, a hug is the best medicine for homesickness, even if it isn't those at your home who you're hugging." She then pulled the girl into a tight hug just like she remembered her mother doing for her.

They stayed still for a few moments until Emma broke down into tears again.

"I-I've just been looking f-forward to coming t-t-to Hogwarts ever since my m-mum told me about it when I was little and it isn't a-anything like I had hoped and then we g-get tortured every day and we c-can't do anything about it and I just w-wish I was h-home with my m-mum and d-dad and that I could sleep in my own bed and see my aunt and uncle and grandma and-and-"

"Shhh…" Ginny whispered, rubbing her hand on Emma's back in an attempt to calm her down. She knew from past experience that if she continued much longer in this state she would end up sicking up. And she also knew that neither of them would want to deal with that.

"It'll be alright, I promise, shhh, it'll be alright."

False words of comfort, she knew. But even faux comfort was better than despair.

Emma slowly but surely calmed down, forcing herself to take deep, shuddering breaths.

Once she was calm she looked up into Ginny's face.

"Thanks. Even if I know you were faking. It really did help."

Ginny grinned sheepishly, then heard movement from the upper floors and realized that the sun's morning light was shining through the window.

"Want to head down to breakfast?"

"Sure. Just let me go and wash my face."

Emma rushed off, up the girls staircase, and Ginny smiled at her excitement. There was always hope, even if it was buried in fear and fright. Thankfully, as long as there were people like Emma around, it would never be buried too deep.

_fin_


End file.
